NEW YORK — A government employment report showing the strongest addition of jobs since July as well as a batch of mostly strong monthly retail sales reports failed to buoy the stock market last week, contributing to the WWD Composite Stock Index‘s decline of 2.9 percent to 1,128.53.
Similarly, the broader S&P 500 lost 0.3 percent in the week to 1,265.08, hurt partly from once again rising oil prices, which were blamed on an approaching winter storm.
The government said Friday that 215,000 jobs were added to nonfarm payrolls in November, ahead of expectations for 210,000, while the unemployment rate remained at 5 percent. On the negative side, however, nonfarm payrolls for October were revised down to 44,000 from a prior reading of 56,000.
In addition to reports on Thursday that same-store sales in November benefited from Black Friday promotions, watch designer and manufacturer Movado Group Inc. said net earnings in the three months ended Oct. 31 rose 24.5 percent to $14.1 million, or 54 cents a share, including a gain on a sale of a building and a loss from the accounting for foreign-currency hedge derivatives. Last year, the company earned $11.3 million, or 44 cents.
Total sales increased 11.6 percent to $141.7 million, and same-store sales were up 10.6 percent at the company’s Movado boutiques.
Paramus, N.J.-based Movado forecast full-year 2006 earnings per share to be $1.21 to $1.27, including expenses related to equity compensation of restricted stock. Sales in the year are seen rising 12 percent.
Shares of Movado added 4 percent in the week to $19.09.
Other strong weekly stock advancers included Dress Barn Inc., which, during the week, said first-quarter earnings nearly tripled and reported a 10 percent increase in November comps, and Mothers Work Inc., which had a 4 percent rise in November comps. Shares of Dress Barn ended the week up 21 percent at $34.96, while Mothers Work shares surged 18.1 percent to $11.75.
Meanwhile, two specialty apparel retailers, American Eagle Outfitters Inc. and Pacific Sunwear of California Inc., saw their stocks drop in the week on disappointing November comps. American Eagle had a 1.7 percent rise in comps and its stock ended off 12.9 percent at $21 for the week, while PacSun watched its shares slide 6.3 percent to $25.39 after reporting a slight comp increase of 3 percent for November.
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